Patient policy

Circle private patient terms & conditions

The private patient terms & conditions form part of a contract between you and Circle which consists of your registration form, the private patient terms and conditions, and your treatment letter. A copy of the current private patient terms and conditions will be sent to you with your treatment letter and further copies are available at the hospital.

Pre-admission visit

If you would like to visit the hospital before your admission please feel free to call us on 0118 922 6888 and we would be delighted to arrange a suitable time to meet you and show you around the hospital.

Our approach and your rights

Circle Reading places a high level of importance on effective communication with the patients who attend the hospital. Consultants will fully explain treatment options at the time of consultation.

Patient consent

Every patient has the right to make his/her own decisions regarding medical treatment and care. In order to make decisions, the patient is entitled to have full information about the treatment options, identified risks and the intended outcome of any treatment / procedure. The consent may be written, verbal or non-verbal dependent on the requirement for consent. If you feel that you have had insufficient information regarding your treatment or procedure, please speak to a member of the nursing team before your procedure takes place.

Arrangements for respecting patients privacy and dignity

Please be assured that, under our Confidentiality Policy, your personal details will not be disclosed to any third party without your specific permission (except under legislative requirement or where an information sharing agreement exists such as with another healthcare provider or your insurer).

Our policy on confidentiality can be made available to you on request.

Chaperones

All patients have the right to request a chaperone to be present at any time during their stay or for any element of their treatment or consultation. For further information, please speak to a member of staff

Patient access to medical records

Under the Access to Medical Records Act 1996 you have the right (with certain conditions) to view your medical records.

If you wish to view your medical records you should inform a member of the nursing staff who will make the necessary arrangements with the nurse lead.

Access to clinical records is provided in line with statutory requirements and policy as follows:

Access to Consultant Records

Permission of the consultant must be obtained before access is permitted. Access to the patients medical record may be refused if the consultant considers that;

1. To allow access would seriously harm the physical or mental well-being of the patient or any other individual.2. Access would disclose information relating to or provided by another person who can be recognised from the information. This does not apply if the third party has given their permission.3. The record was compiled before 1 November 1991 unless earlier information is required to make sense of a current entry.

If a consultant refuses to allow a patient access to their medical records;

1. This will be clearly documented in the nursing records2. The consultant will inform the patient with an adequate explanation either verbally (preferably) or in writing

Access to Nursing / Hospital Records

Patients are allowed free access to their nursing records.Any questions or issues relating to entries in the nursing records will be dealt with by a senior nurse

Caldicott Guardian and Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO)

Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO)

Patients and partners should look to the SIRO as the focal point for the control of information risks and incidents. The SIRO’s main concern is the management of all of the information assets within Circle. Their role also looks to foster a culture for protecting and using data.

The Caldicott Guardian advises the SIRO in matters of patient confidentiality and information handling. If there is uncertainty in the use of a patient’s information, the Guardian will advise on approaches to best practise in these situations.

They play the role of the conscience of the organisation. The SIRO will consult with the Guardian where appropriate when conducting information risk reviews which comprise or contain patient information.

Data Protection and Patient Privacy

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) puts in place enhanced regulations regarding the processing of personal information and applies to both manual and computer records. Your signature on the Registration Form which you will be given on arrival will confirm that you have read and understood the Data Protection Statement on the form, and Circle’s Patient Privacy Notice has been made available to you. The Patient Privacy Notice sets out details of the information that Circle may collect from you and how that information may be used. To obtain a copy of the personal data held by Circle, you will need to apply in writing to Circle’s Data Protection Officer.

Data Protection Officer

The Data Protection Officer ("DPO") helps ensure that the Circle complies with data protection law. The DPO can be contacted by:

Email: dpo@circlehealth.co.ukPost: Data Protection Officer, Circle Health, 32 Welbeck Street, London, W1G 8EU.If you would like further information about any of the matters covered by Circle’s Privacy Notice or have any other questions about how we collect, store or use your personal information, please contact the DPO using the details above.

Special requirements

We recognise that everyone has individual circumstances and needs and we use this as the basis for planning your care. Please make staff aware of any special requirements you may have.

Allergies

Please make sure that a member of clinical staff is made aware of any known allergy you may have.

Blood transfusions

It may be necessary either during or after certain surgery that you may require a blood transfusion. If you have concerns regarding blood transfusions or would want to refuse a blood transfusion please discuss these concerns with your nurse or consultant, prior to your surgery, as it will not be possible to ascertain your consent whilst you are under any form of sedation or anaesthetic

Advance directives and resuscitation procedure

We believe that patient's rights are central to decision making about resuscitation therefore please advise us if you have in place an advance decision.

Emergency care

In the rare event of an emergency we can assure you that our emergency team are fully trained and competent in life support. The Resident Medical Officer is fully trained and competent in both adult and paediatric advanced life support. We undertake emergency scenario testing on a regular basis to ensure that our team remain skilled in the area of emergency care.

Child protection and the protection of vulnerable adults

The Nurse Lead has attended advanced training in Child Protection and the Protection of Vulnerable Adults and is responsible for awareness training within the hospital. All staff who may be involved in the care, treatment or come into contact with children, adolescents or vulnerable adults will undergo training on induction and thereafter annually as part of their mandatory training programme. Consultants are required to provide evidence that they have also attended training for Child Protection and the Protection of Vulnerable Adults, or to attend the hospital's training sessions in these areas.

The Nurse Lead is the named professional for Child Protection.

Policy on mixed sex accommodation

Read our declaration on mixed sex accommodation.

Infection, protection and control

Read our declaration on infection, protection and control.

British National Formulary

All of our partners are up-to-date with the advice for prescribers provided by the British National Formulary.

Quality account

Read the CircleReading Quality Account 2015/16

Statement of Purpose

Read our Statement of Purpose.

Health and Safety Policy Statement

Read our Health and Safety Policy Statement.

Fast track your treatment

Just enter your details below and we'll ring you to provide a quote or answer your questions. We will use your personal information to process your enquiry and contact you with relevant information. For further information, please see our website privacy policy.